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Nicole Will Hit Like a Hurricane
Image by NASA Goddard Photo and Video via Flickr
I don’t like the sound of this at all, not after what we’ve been through. I wonder what it will do to all those damaged trees? All day long the wind has been gusting here in Forest Hills something fierce!
From AccuWeather.com: Nicole Will Hit Like a Hurricane
Father, Daughter Hit on 108th St.
Image via Wikipedia
One of Edge of the City’s readers has contacted me about what she describes as “an horrific accident” that occurred last night at 108th and 66th Streets, across from Temple Beth Gavriel. This person says a father and his daughter were both hit by a car there while trying to cross. She says both were injured, but the last she heard they had survived.
“108th is notorious for speeders – something needs to be done or somebody will be killed for certain,” the reader told me. “What can we do, Drake? We need to formulate a letter of sorts (to whom, I’m unsure) suggesting perhaps that the lights be timed so that it stops speeding? That’s one idea I had. Perhaps a camera to take photos of the speeders?”
As readers of this blog know, I have long been pushing for more time to get across Queens Blvd. (I honestly don’t know how the elderly can make it across as it is set up now, with just about 40 seconds to cross.) Now I’m hearing about these types of tragedies occurring on other streets in our neighborhood.
It’s so tragic because it really is so easily preventable if only the powers that be stopped favoring motorists over pedestrians. After all, a ton of us here in the City don’t even own a car and our feet are what we use to get around.
Flossing Mishaps
Image via Wikipedia
By the way, have you ever wrapped the dental floss way too tightly around one of your finger tips and experienced that moment of terror when you realize you have just cut off all the blood flow to the important appendage and CANNOT UNTIE IT ?! And the vision of emergency rooms and one less finger quickly floods into your mind? Just happened to me. I really hate it. 😦 And it is not the first time. I guess you can call me an “overzealous tooth flosser.”
Morning Coffee
The homestead is being battered this morning by gusty winds from the tropical storm moving up the coast. I hope the old shanty holds together after the pounding it received a couple of weeks ago.
From one of my favorite meteorologists (yes, I admit it, I have a favorite meteorologist – major geek here) :
The eastern arm of rain that was drenching New York City is moving north, so they will probably have a significant period with little or no rain today. However, as the north-south river of moisture moves slowly eastward, the risk of heavy rain in Philadelphia, and then New York City, will increase.
Aside from that, here’s a little news:
- Still no word on the cause of death of that person found in our Barnes & Noble’s bathroom.
- The MTA is now thinking of keeping its unlimited metrocards, albeit at the higher price of $104.
On a lighter note, our annual Fall Street Fair returns this Sunday all along Austin! 
By the way, if you have a chance, check out this blog’s new Local Shopping page and add to it as you see fit. It’s just getting started. And don’t forget the Local Restaurants page either. If you have recently discovered a store or restaurant in our area that you really love, I for one would love to hear about it, and I am sure so would the blog’s readers.
Storm Damage Update
The following information is from the City’s Parks Department. It contains some really interesting updated info on the impact of the tornado:
View an album of photos of the aftermath of the storms and of Parks’ cleanup effort.
As of Tuesday, September 28, over 9,000 calls were made to 311 to report trees damaged or down. Over 6,900 of these tree service request calls to 311 came from Queens, over 1,600 from Brooklyn, and nearly 400 from Staten Island. They include over 3,500 calls for downed trees, nearly 3,700 calls for downed limbs, and over 1,700 calls for hanging limbs. This is the highest number of storm calls in the 14 years Parks Forestry has tracked tree damage and downed trees using our current system. The number does not take into account hundreds, perhaps thousands of trees damaged or down in parks.
The storm left a swath of destruction that stretches uninterrupted from Park Slope through Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick in Brooklyn, into Ridgewood, Queens and all the way through Queens to Bayside. In Staten Island the worst damage is on the North Shore (Port Richmond, Livingston, New Brighton), with another pocket of damage in Tottenville on the South Shore. There was little or no damage to trees in Manhattan or the Bronx. The damage is due to the effects of two tornados and a macroburst that sheared tops off of many otherwise healthy trees which will now have to be taken down as well.
View a map of storm event service requests.
Parks crews immediately began working to clear downed trees and have already collected nearly 2,350 tons of wood waste. There are 127 Parks Forestry teams, comprising 588 staff, and they include both forestry crews and inspectors, alongside forestry contractor crews working under a storm emergency contract. Currently deployed are 70 bucket trucks / tree trimmers, 25 chipper trucks, 40 log loaders, and 18 container trucks. Staff from Manhattan and the Bronx are being deployed in Queens. Additionally, the Office of Emergency Management is coordinating a citywide effort of hundreds of other city workers to remove downed trees and debris from streets and highways across the region. Assistance is being provided by the New York City Departments of Police, Fire, Transportation, Sanitation, Design & Construction (for sidewalk reconstruction contracts), Environmental Protection, New York State Department of Transportation, and the National Guard and volunteers coordinated by NYC Service. Con Ed is simultaneously clearing wires so that trees can be removed. We have also engaged the assistance of the United States Forest Service, who recently dispatched 20 members of their elite “Hot Shot” crew from Alabama to assist with chain-sawing and clean-up efforts.
We continue to urge citizens not to try to clear downed trees by themselves, as trees can weigh many tons and suddenly shift or fall.
Here’s what else you can do:
- To report City trees or limbs that are down, please visit our online forestry service request system or call 311.
- If the trees are City trees and you would like to address the clean up independently with a contractor, you will need to fill out a simple permit application before the work is begun. The application can be filled out electronically, and completed applications should be sent to the email address included with the form. Please include the words “Emergency Permits” in the subject line.
- If the trees are your own, or if you would like a City tree removed on your own schedule, Parks has prepared a list of contractors who are insured and experienced in this type of work. In addition, the City will be removing tree stumps and repairing sidewalks at no cost to homeowners. Please call 311 for more information.
- Volunteer with NYC Service to Clean Up Tree Debris
- Donate to MillionTreesNYC and the Mayor’s Fund
Man Found Dead In Barnes & Noble
This just happened this afternoon. Supposedly he is 25 years old and they have not yet released his name or the cause of death:
Man found dead inside Barnes & Noble bathroom in Queens – NYPOST.com.
Weather Update
If you’re just starting your commute home now, so far all we have had is a very windy and overcast afternoon here in Forest Hills — no rain, and no tornadoes! The radar actually looks like the storminess might have passed by us without much of anything.
But, once again, do keep your eyes on all those damaged trees. I have noticed a few really large branches or pieces of trees hanging precariously high overhead. I am actually surprised these haven’t been attended to yet by the City since they can be very dangerous, especially when it’s windy like this.
What a Tornado Watch Means
It doesn’t mean there IS a tornado – just that conditions are favorable for one and it could happen.
Here is some more info on this:
Tornado Watch Until Tonight
Yes, it is true – they have issued another tornado watch. I have my space in the hallway all ready just in case. 😦
From Weather Underground:
 |
Tornado Watch | |
| Statement as of 1:03 PM EDT on September 28, 2010
Tornado Watch 686 remains in effect until 600 PM EDT for the
following locations NY Albany Bronx Broome |
||
Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Image via Wikipedia
One positive thing the tornado did for me was make me appreciate, of all things, trees! I am not joking. After seeing the scary sight of all those enormous trees brought down by the storm, I walked through the Gardens this past weekend and for the first time really appreciated the amazing trees that are still standing. Boy, are we blessed in this area with some awesome trees! They must be some of the oldest in the City.
Anyway, I came across this interesting story in The Times about how a tree clearing crew from Tennessee has been in the City since the storm helping with the recovery:
Happy Holidays To All My Readers
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Edge of the City: A Forest Hills, NY Blog 